“Oh, that can’t be at all good for you, little boy,” Jade announced.
He didn’t spare her a glance as he continued to chew on the wood. “Stop that now, Dakota,” she commanded. “Your mama will be unhappy if she sees you eating the furniture. Come out here, please.”
It was obvious that she had no experience handling children. It was also a fact that she didn’t realize she had an audience watching her either.
Both Caine and Lyon leaned against opposite door frames observing the pair. They were both trying not to laugh.
“You aren’t going to cooperate, are you, Dakota?” Jade asked.
The baby gurgled happily in answer to that remark.
“She’s innovative, I’ll give her that,” Lyon whispered to Caine when Jade lifted the edge of the settee and moved it to the side.
She then sat down on the floor next to the little one. He immediately wiggled his way toward her. She wasn’t at all certain how to lift a baby. She’d heard that their little necks weren’t strong enough to hold their heads up until they were at least a year or so. Dakota, however, had lifted his chest off the carpet and seemed to be strong enough on his own.
He made the most delightful sounds. He was such a happy little boy. She couldn’t resist touching him. She gingerly patted the top of his head, then eased her hands under his arms and slowly dragged him up onto her lap.
She wanted to cuddle him against her bosom.
He wanted something else. Dakota grabbed hold of a clump of her hair, pulled on it, hard, while he tried to find his supper.
It didn’t take her any time at all to realize what he was trying to do.
“No, no, Dakota,” she whispered when he arched up against her and started to fret. “Your mama’s going to have to feed you. Shall we go and find her, love?”
Jade slowly gained her feet, keeping the baby close against her. His grip on her hair stung, but she didn’t mind.
The baby smelled so wonderful. He was beautiful, too. He had his mother’s blue eyes, but his dark curls came from his father. Jade stroked the baby’s back and softly crooned to him. She was in awe of him.
She turned and noticed the men then. Jade could feel herself blush. “You have a fine son,” she told Lyon in a stammer.
Caine stayed by the door while Lyon went to claim Dakota. He had to pry his son’s hands away from Jade’s hair. She stared at Caine, wondering over the odd expression on his face now. There was tenderness there, but something else as well. She didn’t have any idea what he was thinking.
“He’s the first baby I’ve ever held,” she told Lyon after he’d lifted his son into his arms.
“I’d say that you are a natural,” Lyon replied. “Wouldn’t you agree, Dakota?” he asked. He held the baby up until they were eye level. Dakota immediately grinned.
Christina breezed into the room, drawing Jade’s attention. She hurried over and handed her friend the sharpened knife. The dagger was inside a soft leather carrier. “It’s sharp enough now,” she told Jade. “I made the pouch so you wouldn’t accidentally prick yourself.”
“Thank you,” Jade replied.
“You aren’t going to need a knife,” Caine announced. He moved away from his lazy repose and walked over to Jade’s side. “Let me keep it for you, sweet. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“I will not give it to you,” she announced. “It was a gift from my uncle and I promised him I’d always have it with me.”
He gave in when she backed away from him. “We have to get going,” he told her then. “Lyon, you’ll . . .”
“I will,” Lyon returned. “Just as soon as I’ve . . .”
“Right,” Caine interrupted.
“They seem to be speaking in a different language, don’t they?” Christina said to Jade.
“They don’t want me to worry,” Jade explained.
“Then you understood what they were saying?”
“Of course. Lyon is suppose to start his investigation. Caine’s obviously given him a few suggestions. As soon as he’s found out anything of consequence, he’ll get in touch with Caine.”
Lyon and Caine were staring intently at her. “You deducted all that from . . .”
She interrupted Caine with a nod. Then she turned to Lyon. “You’re going to try to find out if there’s anyone gone missing of late, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Lyon admitted.
“You’ll need a description, won’t you? Of course, the poor man’s nose was a bit scrunched from the fall. Still, I could tell he was quite old, almost forty, I would guess. He had gray hair, bushy eyebrows, and cold brown eyes. He didn’t look at all peaceful in death, either. He’d gone to fat, too, around the middle. That’s yet another reason to suppose he was a member of the ton.”
“Why is that?” Caine asked.
“Because he had more than enough to eat for one,” she countered. “There weren’t any callouses on his hands, either. No, he certainly wasn’t a working man. I can tell you that much.”
“Come and sit down,” Lyon suggested. “We’d like to have descriptions of the other men as well.”
“I fear there isn’t much to tell,” she said. “I barely saw them. I don’t know if they were tall or short, fat or thin . . .” She stopped to sigh. “There were three of them and that’s all I had time to notice.”
She looked distressed. Caine thought she was still frightened of the ordeal she’d gone through. She had seen a man fall to his death, after all, and she was such a gentle woman, she couldn’t be used to such horrors.
Jade was upset, yes, and when Caine put his arm around her shoulders, she felt all the more guilty. For the first time in her life, she actually disliked lying. She kept trying to tell herself that her motives were pure. The reminder didn’t help at all, though. She was deceiving three very nice people.
“We have to leave,” she blurted out. “The longer we stay, the more danger we put this family in, Caine. Yes, we must leave now.”
She didn’t give anyone time to argue with her but rushed over to the entrance.
“Caine? Do you have a home in the country somewhere?” she asked, knowing full well that he did.
“Yes.”
“I think we should go there. You can keep me safe away from London.”
“We aren’t going to Harwythe, Jade.”
“Harwythe?”
“The name of my country estate,” he answered. “I’m taking you to my parents’ home. Their property borders mine. You might not be concerned about your reputation, but I am. I’ll come and see you every day to make certain you’re doing all right. I’ll place guards around . . . now why are you shaking your head at me?”
“You’ll come and visit me? Caine, you’re already breaking your word to me,” she cried out. “We are not going to involve your parents in this. You promised me you’d keep me safe and by God, you aren’t going to leave my side until it’s over.”
“She sounds determined, Caine,” Lyon interjected.
“I am in wholehearted agreement with Jade,” Christina interjected.
“Why?” Both Caine and Lyon asked at the same time.
Christina shrugged. “Because she’s my friend. I must agree with her, mustn’t I?”
Neither man had a valid argument for that explanation. Jade was pleased. “Thank you, Christina. I will always agree with you, as well,” she added.
Caine shook his head. “Jade,” he began, thinking to draw her back to their original topic. “I am thinking about your safety when I suggest you stay with my parents.”
“No.”
“Do you honestly believe you’ll be safe with me?”
She took exception to his incredulous tone of voice. “I most certainly do.”
“Sweet, I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you for two long weeks. I’m trying to be noble about this, damn it.”
In the blink of an eye, her face turned crimson. “Caine,” she whispered. “You shouldn’t be saying such things in front of our g
uests.”
“They aren’t our guests,” he countered in a near shout of obvious frustration. “We’re their guests.”
“The man’s always using blasphemies around me,” she told Christina. “He won’t apologize either.”
“Jade!” Caine roared. “Quit trying to change the topic.”
“I don’t believe you should shout at her, Caine,” Christina advised.
“He can’t help himself,” Jade explained. “It’s because of his cranky nature.”
“I’m not cranky,” Caine announced in a much lower tone of voice. “I’m just being honest. I don’t mean to embarrass you.”
“It’s too late,” Jade countered. “You’ve already embarrassed me.”
Both Christina and Lyon looked absolutely mesmerized by the conversation. Caine turned to his friend. “Don’t you have someplace to go?”
“No.”
“Leave anyway,” Caine ordered.
Lyon raised an eyebrow, then gave in. “Come along, wife. We can wait in the dining room. Caine? You’re going to have to let her explain a few more facts before you leave if you want me to . . .”
“Later,” Caine announced.
Christina followed her husband and son out of the room. She paused to squeeze Jade’s hand on her way past her. “It’s best not to fight it,” she whispered. “Your fate has already been determined.”
Jade didn’t pay any attention to that remark. She nodded just to please Christina, then shut the door and whirled around to confront Caine again. Her hands settled on her hips. “It’s absolutely ridiculous to worry about keeping your hands off me. You won’t take advantage of me unless I let you. I trust you,” she added with a vehement nod. Her hands flew to her bodice. “With all my heart,” she added quite dramatically.
“Don’t.”
The harshness in his tone startled her. She quickly recovered. “Too late, Caine. I already do trust you. You’ll keep me safe and I won’t let you touch me. We have an easy pact, sir. Don’t you try to muddy the waters now with last-minute worries. It will all work out. I promise you.”
A commotion in the entryway drew their attention. Caine recognized the voice.
One of his grooms was stammering out his need to find his employer.
“That’s Perry,” Caine told Jade. “He’s one of my grooms. You stay inside this room while I see what he wants.”
She didn’t obey that command, of course, but followed behind him.
When she saw Lyon’s dark expression, she knew something foul had happened. Then her attention turned to the servant. The young man had wide hazel eyes and dark crinkly hair that stood up on end. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath but kept making a circle with the hat he clutched in his hands.
“Everything be lost, mi’lord,” Perry blurted out. “Merlin said to tell you it were a miracle the whole block wasn’t set afire. The Earl of Haselet’s town house was just a bit scorched. There be smoke damage we would imagine, but the outside walls are still intact.”
“Perry, what are you . . .”
“Your town house caught fire, Caine,” Lyon interjected. “Isn’t that what you’re trying to tell us, Perry?”
The servant quickly nodded. “It weren’t carelessness,” he defended. “We don’t know how it started, mi’lord, but there weren’t any candles burning, no fire unattended in the hearths. God be my witness, it weren’t carelessness.”
“No one is blaming you,” Caine said. He kept his voice contained, his anger hidden. What the hell else could go wrong? he wondered. “Accidents happen.”
“It wasn’t an accident.”
Everyone in the foyer turned to look at Jade. She was staring at the floor, her hands clenched together. She seemed to be so distressed, some of Caine’s anger dissipated. “It’s all right, Jade,” he soothed. “What I lost can easily be replaced.” He turned back to Perry and asked, “No one was hurt?”
Lyon watched Jade while the servant stammered out the news that all the servants had gotten out in time.
Caine was relieved. He was about to give fresh orders to his groom when Lyon interrupted him. “Let me handle the authorities and the servants,” he suggested. “You need to get Jade out of London, Caine.”
“Yes,” Caine answered. He was trying not to alarm Jade but he’d already guessed the fire had something to do with the men chasing after her.
“Perry, go to the kitchen and get something to drink,” Lyon ordered. “There’s always ale and brandy on the counter.”
The servant hurried to comply with that suggestion.
Lyon and Caine both stared at Jade now, waiting for her to say something. She stared at the floor. She was wringing her hands together.
“Jade?” Caine asked when she continued to hold her silence. “Why don’t you believe it was an accident?”
She let out a long sigh before answering. “Because it isn’t the first fire, Caine. It’s the third they’ve set. They do seem partial to fires.”
She lifted her gaze to look at him. He could see the tears in her eyes then. “They’ll try again, and again, until they finally catch you . . . and me,” she hastily added. “Inside.”
“Are you saying they mean to kill you by . . .?” Lyon asked.
Jade shook her head. “They don’t just mean to kill me now,” she whispered. She looked at Caine and started to cry. “They mean to kill him, too.”
Chapter Six
Jade wiped the tears away from her face with the backs of her hands. “They must have somehow learned your true identity,” she whispered. “When I went into the tavern, I thought you were Pagan . . . but they must have known all along, Caine. Why else would they burn your town house?”
Caine went to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He led her back into the drawing room. “Monk wouldn’t have told them,” he announced. “I don’t know how they could have . . . never mind. Jade, no more half explanations,” he ordered. “I have to know everything.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” she said.
Lyon followed the pair inside the salon. He shut the doors behind him and then took his seat across from the settee. Caine gently forced Jade to sit down beside him.
Jade looked at Lyon. “I think we lost them last night when we jumped into the Thames. Perhaps, if you told Perry to pretend to continue his search looking for Caine, whoever is watching will assume you didn’t know where we were.”
Lyon thought that was an excellent plan. He immediately agreed and went in search of the servant.
As soon as he left the room, Jade turned to Caine. “I can’t stay with you. I understand that now. They’ll kill you trying to get to me. I’ve tried not to like you, sir, but I’ve failed in that endeavor. It would upset me if you were hurt.”
She tried to leave after making that explanation but Caine wouldn’t let her move. He tightened his hold around her and hauled her up close to his side. “I have also tried not to like you,” he whispered. He kissed the top of her head before continuing. “But I’ve also failed in that endeavor. We seem to be stuck with each other, sweet.”
They stared at each other a long while. Jade broke the silence. “Isn’t it peculiar, Caine?”
“What’s that?” he countered in a whisper to match hers.
“You’ve just lost your town house, we’re both in terrible danger now, and all I want is for you to kiss me. Isn’t that peculiar?”
He shook his head. His hand moved to cup her chin. “No,” he answered. “I want to kiss you, too.”
“You do?” Her eyes widened. “Well, isn’t that the . . .”
“Damnedest thing?” he whispered as he leaned down.
“Yes,” she sighed against his mouth. “It is the damnedest thing.”
His mouth took possession of hers then, ending their conversation. Jade immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. Caine nudged her mouth open by applying subtle pressure on her chin, and when she’d done as he wanted, his tongue swept inside.
He meant only to take a quick taste, but the kiss quickly got out of control. His mouth slanted over hers with hard insistence.
He couldn’t get enough of her.
“For the love of . . . Caine, now isn’t the time to . . .”
Lyon had made those half statements from the doorway, then strolled back over to his chair. Caine, he noticed, was reluctant to stop kissing Jade. She didn’t have such reservations, however, and shoved herself away from her partner with amazing speed.
She was beet red when she glanced over at Lyon. Since he was grinning at her, she turned her attention to her lap. She realized then that she was clutching Caine’s hand against her bosom, and immediately tossed it aside.
“You forget yourself, sir,” she announced.
He decided not to remind her that she’d been the one to bring up the topic of kissing in the first place.
“I think it’s high time we heard her explanation,” Lyon ordered. “Jade?” he asked, though in a much softer tone when he saw the startle his booming voice had caused. Lord, she was timid. “Why don’t you tell us about the first fire?”
“I will try,” she answered, her gaze still downcast. “But the memory still gives me the shivers. Please don’t think me a weak woman.” She turned to look up at Caine. “I’m really not weak at all.”
Lyon nodded. “Then can we begin?” he asked.
“Jade, before you tell us about the fires, why don’t you give us a little background?” Lyon asked.
“My father was the Earl of Wakerfields. Nathan, my brother, has that title now, along with numerous others, of course. Father died when I was eight years old. I remember he was on his way to London to see another man. I was in the garden when he came to say goodbye.”
“If you were so young, how can you remember?” Caine asked.
“Papa was very upset,” she answered. “He frightened me and I think that must be the reason I remember it all so clearly. He kept pacing back and forth along the path with his hands clasped behind his back and he kept telling me that if anything happened to him, Nathan and I were to go to his friend, Harry. He was so insistent I pay attention to what he was telling me that he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. I was more interested in the trinkets I wanted him to bring home for me.” Her voice took on a wistful quality when she added, “I was very young.”